Let us treasure the precious Teachings that the Venerable Servant of God, Card. Francois Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân has left us:

• Do not be afraid to tell the Lord everything you want. Think of Jesus' words: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name; ask and you shall receive" (Jn 16:24). Not being afraid means loving as a child loves his father.

• Jesus does not teach you to love by starting with your emotions, but teaches you to love even your enemies. Loving others means sincerely desiring their good and doing whatever it takes to ensure their happiness. This requires forgetting yourself completely.

• Following Jesus is an adventure: to the ends of the earth, without a car, without a horse, without gold, without resources, without a walking stick; only with faith in Him.

• Only the present moment is important. Don't keep remembering what your neighbour did to you yesterday in order to criticise him. Do not keep remembering what happened to you today to regret it; it is already in the past. Do not be pessimistic about tomorrow; it is still part of the future. Entrust the past to God's mercy, entrust the future to His providence, and entrust everything to His love.

• Decide to do what must be done without fear and without hesitation. Be courageous and full of hope; trust God and your courage! 

• If the Lord wants you to suffer some humiliation as a result of your commitments, he is in truth inviting you to share with Him the glory of the Cross.

• You continue to advance on the path of hope, without worrying about the pressing protests of whoever is at your side, as St. Paul says: "Chains and tribulations await me", and as Jesus says: "Now I must go to Jerusalem to suffer". 

• When the people praise or denigrate you, don't worry: be quite happy because on the one hand you can lose something, and on the other hand you can become rich from something. There is only one thing that can do you harm: the sin. There is only one thing that can enrich you: the virtue.

• Living in the present is the way in which the crosses become bearable; living in the present permits us to understand God's inspirations, the impulses of His grace; living in the present permits us to profitably build our own holiness.

• To be saint, it is enough that you fulfil your duties of the present moment until the end. The discovery and the revelation of this truth will bring peace and strength at your soul. 

• The Church was born on the cross. The Church grows by continuing the passion of Jesus until the end of the times. If you put your confidence into money, into diplomacy, power, influence or in propaganda of any kind, you will find yourself sadly disappointed.

• A strong man knows when to shut up. Many times the useless words, told without thinking of the consequences, spread discord. The useless words are the devil's tool to undermine the charity.

• The selfish avoid the responsibilities, the situations that involve a hard effort and avoid the sacrifices. They would like to create their own happiness and the paradise on earth. Unfortunately, they will lose paradise for the eternity.

• If you do not remain closely united to the will of God, moment by moment, you will experience falls along the path of hope. This will happen because your duty will seem to you lacking any novelty, too unnoticed and hidden, and full of the daily monotony. The problem is very simple. Before you do anything you should think: "Lord, what shall I do? (Acts 22:10) Do the will of God! 

• If everyone in their own lives were faithful to their duties, the growth from personal holiness would change their hearts and also renew their families and the whole world.

• You are rather determined to give up wealth and social position, to give up your life in order to safeguard your honour and your faith. Never abandon this behaviour, for it would mean losing everything. 

• Maybe you are one of those who says "yes" to everything and are willing to compromise. Now, which way do you want to go? To say "yes" to many gods? To adhere to many religions? To adapt to a wide variety of moral standards? Or do you have an elastic conscience that can adapt to any situation?

• The Lord is not the Saviour who forces you to love and revive him, but rather he for whom you must let yourself to love without reserve.

• Being courageous does not mean: neither venturing into meaningless things, nor making rash approaches. If you want to get to the end of this path of hope, you must free yourself from fear. How many people have stood by Jesus at the foot of the Cross? 

• The refusal to accept false values is not pride, nor is it stubbornness: it is more a testimony of total adherence to your own ideals.

• The Lord says: "I am the truth". He does not say that the newspaper or television is the truth, what kind of truth do you want to follow?

• Whether you are rich or poor, whether people praise you or laugh at you, whether you are noble or humble, all this does not have importance if you have decided to walk the path, waiting for the joyful hope, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.